


A Taste of Home

by inkberrry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Hunk's got a crush and Lance is oblivious, Loneliness, M/M, Pre-Relationship, allura/lotor mention, shiro/keith mention, space cookies!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 23:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15695910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkberrry/pseuds/inkberrry
Summary: Whenever Lance is feeling particularly down, Hunk is there. Sometimes with cookies.





	A Taste of Home

**Author's Note:**

> There's some mention of Lance having crushes on other Voltron members, so if even a small mention of that isn't your thing I wanna warn you first so you can skip this.

Yesterday Lance saw Allura kissing Lotor. The day before he’d seen Keith wrapped around Shiro’s waist. Today, he thought, he better not see Coran cozying up with some new refugee in the castle.   
  
It wasn’t that he was jealous. He moved past that a while ago. The burn of jealousy, once hot and bright, faded until it was nothing but smothered coals. The heat was gone, and in its place was a hollow chill. He wasn’t sure which was worse.  
  
It felt like everyone around him was settling in and finding exactly what they needed. He was happy for them in a way that left a bitter taste in the back of his throat and a stab of shame in his chest. With the whole universe spread out before them, there should be something for him, too. The further they traveled though, the less and less Lance believed that.   
  
Sighing, he resumed his despondent stare up at the ceiling of his room. The warm yellow light looked more like the sun back home than any star he’d seen out in space, and it offered at least a little comfort. He thought he might drift off and hopefully dream of something sweet and pretty when there was a knock on his door.   
  
“Hey man, you wanna open up the door?”  
  
Hunk’s voice made its way in from the hallway, the heavy metal of the door doing nothing to block the familiar cheerful sound. His eyes still closed, Lance sighed and made no move to rise from his bed.   
  
“What is it, Hunk?” he called out. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”  
  
There was a moment of quiet where Lance guessed Hunk was scrambling for an answer, and then the faint sound of something scarping against the door. Lance’s eyes narrowed as he tried to place the noise, but it was soon drowned out by Hunk’s answer.   
  
“So, uh, you’re too busy for fresh made cookies? I mean, I guess I can eat them myself.”  
  
The mention of cookies pulled Lance from his distant thoughts, and he glanced towards the door. The last batch of Hunk’s so called cookies had been almost inedible. If he’d somehow managed to improve them, though…  
  
With another sigh Lance pushed himself out of bed and shuffled to the door. He pulled it open to see Hunk standing there with his hands full: a tray of cookies held between them, and two glasses of milk balanced precariously on top. The cookies looked suspiciously authentic.   
  
“Come in,” Lance said, deciding to take the risk. Sometimes Hunk did amazing things in the kitchen with the weird goop they had stocked. This could be one of those times.   
  
Hunk grinned at Lance when he walked past, and the tray of cookies scraped against the door, making the sound Lance heard before. He shut it when Hunk was fully inside, then realized his room was dark but for the static glow of the screen he’d hooked up in hopes of playing an old earth video game. His bed was unmade, the pillows tossed across it and squished into odd shapes. Another wave of shame washed over Lance as he watched Hunk look around. He really hadn’t felt like tidying up lately.  
  
“So what were you in the middle of?” Hunk asked, and there wasn’t anything but curiosity in his tone. “Doesn’t look like it was cleaning.”  
  
Lance felt his face grow warm when Hunk pointed out the exact thing he was just feeling sorry for himself about. He turned his back to his friend for a second while it cooled, and used the opportunity to take a seat on his bed again.   
  
“Very funny,” he said once he turned back to Hunk. “I was just…thinking, okay?”  
  
Despite feeling close to Hunk after all they’d been through, Lance didn’t feel quite like telling him he had been busy wallowing in self pity. He didn’t want Hunk to feel bad for him too, or worse - to think less of him. Hunk took Lance’s answer in stride, however, and just took a seat at the desk near the bed. He placed the tray of cookies and two glasses on it, then looked over at Lance.   
  
There was something in Hunk’s eyes that told Lance he knew the truth without having to say a word. The warm brown reflected back to Lance the state of his room, his own long and weary face, and the shadows that clung to him like cobwebs. It was difficult to hide anything from Hunk. He just _knew._   
  
He looked liked like he wanted to say something, too. Whether he was waiting for permission Lance couldn’t be sure, but he waved him on just in case. It must have been what Hunk needed, as he moved a bit closer with the desk chair and started to talk again.   
  
“I know you had a, you know, a thing for Allura before. And for Keith-"  
  
“I didn’t have a thing for Keith!”   
  
That was a lie, but one Lance had vowed to take to the grave. It had been fleeting anyway; as soon as he noticed how crazy Keith was for Shiro he’d effectively buried his feelings. The two of them were clearly meant to be together, and Lance was smart enough to know his place wasn’t there. It had been harder with Allura. For a while he really thought he had a chance.   
  
“Yeah, sure,” Hunk said dismissively. Lance appreciated that he didn’t press the topic, but it was embarrassing he figured it out in the first place. “Anyway, I just thought you might need a little pick me up. Because of how gross and all over Shiro and Lotor they’ve been lately.”   
  
“Gee, thanks for reminding me, Hunk,” Lance said, and resisted the urge to flop onto his back on the bed. Instead he reached for the plate of cookies and took one of the many stacked there. It was soft, the chocolate chips melting and gooey on his fingers. It _felt_ like a cookie, which was a definite step up from Hunk’s last attempt.   
  
With nothing to lose except his breakfast, Lance took a bite. His eyes widened when the sweet taste filled his mouth, the melting chocolate mixing perfectly with the soft, chewy texture. A thousand feelings rushed through him, all memories and nostalgia of something he’d thought he might never taste again.   
  
“Whoa, this is like, actually _good_ ,” he said around another mouthful of cookie.   
  
“Yeah, isn’t it?” Hunk smiled at the compliment, his own eyes bright and excited. “Pidge and I rigged up a machine to make butter from Kaltenecker’s milk. That’s the closest thing you’re gonna get to an earth cookie this side of the universe.”   
  
Hunk looked so proud of himself that Lance couldn’t help but smile. A bit of his foul mood disappeared at the same rate his cookie did, and soon he was reaching for a second one. They sat together for a while, munching on the sweets and drinking the glasses of fresh milk. It was comfortable, as it always was when Hunk was around.   
  
After a while Lance noticed that Hunk had that look again - the one he had when he walked in, like he wanted to say something. Before he could tell him to go on and spit it out Hunk looked at him and caught his eyes.  
  
“Hey, Lance?” he started, and Lance nodded to show he was listening. When Hunk continued his voice was softer, and sounded as warm as the cookie in Lance’s hand. “I know Allura and Keith didn’t see you the way you wanted, but someone will. Or does already.”         
  
What Hunk said took Lance by surprise. He thought the topic of his feelings had been dropped, left for him to deal with alone. He wanted to deal with it alone. If he was the only one who knew how hurt and alone he felt then he could continue being what everyone else believed he was, and what they needed him to be.   
  
Hunk was looking at him so earnestly though, like what Lance felt mattered to him. No one else here gave off that feeling, except maybe Shiro at times, but never quite like this. It was enough to make Lance sigh again, and to look down at the blanket on his bed to avoid Hunk’s eyes.   
  
“Thanks for saying that, man, but I don’t know,” he said softly, his voice almost lost. “I don’t really have much to offer, do I?”  
  
“Uh, of course you do?” It was Hunk’s turn to look surprised now, and he leaned forward in his seat closer to Lance as if that would help get his point across. “You’re literally a badass paladin of Voltron. There’s like, six of those in the whole universe. And on top of that you’re a pretty great friend. I mean sure, sometimes you can be a bit obnoxious but I think everyone has that problem in some way.”  
  
Lance looked up while Hunk was talking and noticed that the distance between them had closed more than he expected. He didn’t think much about it, as his mind was busy processing what Hunk was saying. Coming from anyone else Lance wasn’t sure he’d believe it, but he couldn’t recall a time Hunk had ever tried to deceive someone, or to lie. He was too kind, and right then Lance was grateful to be this close to him.   
  
“Listen, Lance. Have another cookie.” Hunk picked one up and pressed it into Lance’s hand, their fingers meeting briefly.  “Someone’s going to fall for you. There’s no way it’s not going to happen. And if you’re ever doubting that, come hang out with me, okay? I’ll get you to believe it somehow.”   
  
There was a beat of silence. Lance opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again when the words didn’t come. It didn’t feel like there was anything he _could_ say. Hunk’s offering of sweets and sweet words had banished a bit of Lance’s clinging shadows, and for that he had nothing of his own to give back.  
  
“Thanks,” he finally managed, hoping that the single word would convey some of his gratitude.   
  
Hunk waved it away with a swipe of his hand and a smile, then stood. Lance saw then they had still been very close, Hunk’s knees grazing his while they were seated. He swallowed back a sudden rush of heat that threatened to make its way to his face, and watched as Hunk walked towards the door.   
  
“Uh, Hunk?” Lance said, calling out before he even thought about it. When Hunk looked back at him he was relieved that he was still smiling. “Do you want to…hang out for a bit?”  
  
In answer Hunk laughed, the sound filling the small room and somehow making it seem brighter inside. He made his way back to the desk and sat down, his knees again close to Lance’s. 


End file.
